Rational lobbying and EU climate policy

Using a simple rational choice model as a heuristic device, this paper explores the lobbying behaviour of environmental and business organisations in the field of climate policy and discusses why their lobbying behaviour differs. I find that environmental organisations lobby less than what would be considered rational according to the simple rational choice model, and argue that this might largely be explained by tight budget constraints. I also find that business organisations lobby more than what would be considered rational according to the model, and argue that this might be explained if one applies a long-term perspective on rational lobbying in the policy field rather than a short-term perspective on single policy decisions. Moreover, I find that the type of lobbying differs. While environmental organisations focus on single policy decisions, business organisations also invest in general lobbying. The analysis is based on interviews with interest organisations lobbying in the field of climate policy at the European Union (EU) level.

Equity, international trade and climate policy

The literature of welfare-maximising greenhouse gas emission reduction strategies pays remarkably little attention to equity. This paper introduces various ways to consider efficiency and equity simultaneously. Lower (higher) discount rates lead to higher (lower) emission reduction. Higher (lower) inequity aversion leads to higher (lower) emission abatement, unless one also considers the negative effects of OECD emission reduction on the exports of developing countries; in that case, the effect of inequity aversion is ambiguous. In the absence of international co-operation, higher (lower) risk aversion leads to lower (higher) emission abatement. With international co-operation, the effect of risk aversion is ambiguous because the higher risk aversion gives more weight to poorer regions and poorer generations. We analyse four ways to introduce compassion in a non-cooperative setting. If observed development aid is a guide, international altruism is small and has little impact on optimal emission control. If countries act as if they 'feel' but not 'physically experience' the climate impact of the most vulnerable country, optimal emission reduction increases, but not substantially so. However, if countries actually have to pay for the damage done, they would prefer to reduce their emissions to much lower levels. Finally, if countries pay as much for emission reduction as other countries suffer from climate change, (that is, if climate policy restores the income distribution to what it would have been without climate change), emissions are rapidly cut to very low levels.     

Ideology and non-state climate action: partnering and design of REDD+ projects

International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics - Scholars and policymakers working on non-state climate action have tended to focus on functional considerations, largely...     

在法律环境下筹办奥运

自从北京成功申办 2 0 0 8年奥运会以后 ,怎样将这届奥运会承办成功就成为举国关注的话题。人们似乎过多地将注意力集中于奥运会对中国经济的客观推动作用 ,却忽视了其他方面的研究。如何将国内现有法律制度与奥运会相关内容相衔接 ,这已成为我国法学界必须着手研究解决的问题。     

Preparing for Structural Reform in the WTO

The structure and operation of the WTO have not been at theforefront of attention of negotiations ever since the GeneralAgreement on Tariffs and Trade was introduced in 1947. The modusoperandi of negotiations has essentially remained unchangeddespite the turn towards non-tariff barriers in complex operationsof treaty-making ever since the Kennedy Round. The note arguesthat the evolution and introduction of the two-tier system ofdispute settlement in 1995 marks the most profound structuralchange, but is not able on its own to deal with all of the challengesof tackling non-tariff barriers in the WTO. Today, the Organizationforms part of a complex system of multilayered governance, bothhorizontally and vertically. It calls for more appropriate structure–substancepairings. The note addresses the need to review negotiatingprocesses in the field of non-tariff barriers. It suggests establishinga proper balance with dispute settlement and case law, and renderingthe function and role of the Secretariat of the WTO more transparent.The creation of a two-tier system is suggested, with a ConsultativeCommittee and a Standing Committee on Legal Affairs within theWTO in order to support and initiate a long overdue structuraldebate in the WTO.     

The global stocktake: design lessons for a new review and ambition mechanism in the international climate regime

International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics - The pledge-and-review architecture of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change has been praised as a new model of global...     

Loading the policy blunderbuss

Ending Gang and Youth Violence: A Cross Governmental Report including further evidence and good practice case studies (EGYV) (HM Government, 2011) describes the Coalition's attempts to develop a coordinated policy strategy to reduce gang related and more general youth violence. The report extends to 84 pages, 23 headline measures, and refers to over 60 reputedly relevant initiatives. Amidst some refreshingly honest admissions (‘We understand that you can't arrest your way out of the problem’), significant emphases are placed on locally coordinated multi-agency action, and on an articulated strategy of family level prevention, individual intervention and police suppression. While the report evidences much good-will, good practice and hard work, at least three core problems relating to expertise, evidence and moral vision critically undermine its strategic coherence; and we contend that the measures flowing from it will, at best, produce weak evidence of no overall effect, and at worst, prove counter-productive.     

Educational policy of the German Bundesverfassungsgericht

This article analyses the jurisdiction of the German Federal Constitution Court over the basic rights of parents, pupils and private schools and the traditional interpretation of the term “supervision of schools by the state” in Art. 7 para 1 Grundgesetz. The term “school supervision by the state” is traditionally interpretated as the state's absolute rights with regard to organisation, planning, control and supervision of schools. The author argues for a new interpretation to limit such supervision to the question of the legality of school activities. Parents should have a free choice between private and state schools. For this it is necessary to give subsidies to private schools in a way that every pupil can enter a school without differentiation according to the social standards or the income of their parents. With these principles in mind, the German Federal Constitution Court tried in 1987 in exemplary fashion to harmonise the constitutional claim and the constitutional reality. However, its recent decisions cast doubt upon this positive assessment. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Regional economic regimes and the environment: stronger institutional design is weakening environmental policy capacity of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation

International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics - International environmental governance by global and, especially, regional regimes is gaining attention in both political...     

An Improved Method of Preparing Fiber Cross Sections

A rapid method for preparing cross-sections of textile fibers is described which is applicable to all major generic classes of synthetic fibers and can be used to cut tiny fragments of individual fiber. Visualization of colourless fibers can be enhanced by staining the embedding medium.     

Preparing samples for the recording of infrared spectra from synthetic fibers.

An improved technique for recording infrared spectra from minute amounts of synthetic fibers by using KBr micropellets is described. The procedure is the same for all commonly encountered synthetic fiber varieties; hence, no preliminary identification is required.     

Prioritising legislation in the policy process

Drafting a piece of legislation is not an end in itself but its major value lies in its practicability. For some time, jurisprudence has not maintained a distinction between policy formulation and policy implementation. Law without compliance and an enforcement effect is like story telling. It may be a very well-written project but have very little to do with the practical world. Prioritisation as a mechanism towards drafting practicable legislation is also an item for the transparency of the legislative plan and process. Between policy formulation and policy implementation, prioritisation is a key player.     

Prostitution policy and the women's movement

Feminists have consistently viewed prostitution as a social problem and opposed state regulated or legalized prostitution. However, feminists in different eras have taken conflicting policy stands on the problem. Progressive era feminists and their organizations supported severe state suppression of prostitution. In contrast, contemporary feminist groups join prostitutes in support of decriminalization. Through historical analysis that compares feminist thought and organization of the two eras, this paper offers an explanation of this contradiction in policy positions based on shifts in feminist thought about the role of the state, particularly criminal sanctions, in addressing prostitution, and changes in the organizing strategies of feminists. The paper also offers important insights to contemporary feminists contemplating policy stands which rely on legal sanctions as a strategy and facilitate alliances with moral crusaders to redress social problems.     

Africa in the global climate change negotiations

The African Group of Negotiators (AGN) has become a much more significant bargaining coalition in the global climate change negotiations. It has been participating more proactively and on a much more significant scale, and, as a result, it has had a greater impact on bargaining outcomes, notably in Nairobi, Copenhagen and Durban. Yet, at present, the group remains poorly understood by both scholars and policymakers. Compared to other groups in the climate negotiations, such as the Group of 77 and Alliance of Small Island States, it has received relatively little attention. This paper fills this gap by tracking the evolution of the AGN over the course of the climate change negotiations. In the early years after the Earth Summit, it shows that the AGN faced tremendous difficulties pursing regional objectives effectively, largely due to a number of “internal” barriers to participation, which compounded the structural barriers that the continent faced by making it difficult to use “low-power” negotiating strategies such as coalition building, agenda-setting and persuasion. However, in recent years, the group has become much more proactive as a result of greater access to material, ideational and institutional resources. These have relieved, somewhat, the internal barriers that the group faced, making it possible for the AGN to negotiate much more confidently and effectively than before.     

论公共政策创新的触发机制

国家的发展及其竞争力的高低在很大程度上取决于公共政策的质量，因此需要政府不断地进行公共政策创新。公共政策创新是政府面对环境的变化和竞争的挑战而进行的主动行为，而触发机制则是公共政策创新过程诱发、催促初始政策设计或最初政策发动的催化剂。     

The necessity of legally compliant data management in European cloud architectures

Taking advantage of flexible resource provisions enabled by Cloud Computing, many businesses have recently migrated their IT applications and data to the Cloud, allowing them to respond to new demands and requests from customers. However, Cloud Computing also moves functions and responsibilities away from local ownership and management to a third-party provided service, and brings with it a set of associated legal issues, such as data protection, licensing, intellectual property rights and the need to comply to necessary regulation. In this paper we evaluate commonly-observed Cloud Computing use cases against the law applying to Cloud Computing to find where legal problems may arise. We derive a general architecture for Clouds and use it to illustrate common Cloud Computing usage patterns. The use cases are assessed against evaluation criteria derived from the relevant Cloud Computing law for the data processing of end-user details and materials, including roles and responsibilities necessary for legal compliance. The Data Protection Directive of the European Union has been used in this evaluation, as it is a commonly accepted and influential directive in the field of data processing legislation.     

Globalization of technology-based growth: the policy imperative

The United States became the dominant technology-based economy after World War II and held that position for decades by accumulating a huge base of superior technical, physical, organizational, and marketing assets. However, the world is witnessing the rapid globalization of technology-based competition, which is the result of major commitments by many nations to investment in technology and its effective utilization. The changing dynamics of such competition requires revisions to the centuries’ old law of comparative advantage and the Schumpeterian process of creative destruction. However, U.S. technology-based growth policies have at best stood still for most of this period. The R&D intensity of the U.S. economy is below its peak in the 1960s and its vaunted “high-tech sector” is too small and increasingly challenged to carry the remaining sectors, as was the case before globalization began in earnest. A major reason for inadequate adaptation is the “installed base effect,” which results from the accumulation of the above types of economic assets and in turn creates both complacency and resistance to the need for adaptation. Weak recoveries from the most recent recessions and the sluggish growth in real incomes are major indicators of structural problems that are not being addressed. Catch-up will require adoption of more comprehensive growth policies, implemented with considerably more resources and based on substantive policy analysis capabilities.